Safety appliance



Aug. 30, 1927. 1,640,677-

- W. E. SMILEY SAFETY APPLIANCE Filed Sept. 25, 1926 3 Sheets Sheet 1INVENTOR W/ZlM/V 5 6/7/15) M www- ATTOR NEYS 1,640,677 f 1927' w. E,SMILEY SAFETY APPLIANCE Filed Sept. 25-, 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORW/ll/AM ga/v/zfy BY H15 ATTORNEYS Aug. 30, 1927. 1,640,677

.W. E. SMlLEY SAFETY APPLIANCE FiledSept. '25, 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

1 unnnaan/ll/ BY HIS WA SW ATTORNEYS Patented As 30, 1927.-

onirsnf STATES WILLIAM E. SMILEY, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

SAFETY APPLIANCE. v

I Application filed September 25 1926. Serial No. 137,724.

' This'invention relates to safety appliances andmore particularly tofenders or guards for excluding persons Orobjects from dangerous areasadjacent to machines such as hoists or cranes. V

In the usual forms of railroad cranes or other hoisting machines thenecessary constructional limitations are generally such that portions ofthe rotatable cab or housing must at times protrude beyond the perimeterof the supporting platform or carriage. Furthermore, it is generallyfound to be desirable to'mount the cab with its floor or lowermostportions only a few inches above the platform. Therefore, when the cabis rotated, the lower edges of the portions which protrude beyond theplat.

form are so positioned that'they'may co-act in a substantially shearingrelation with the edges of the platform. The overhanging or protrudingportion of the cab is generally the rear end, outside the range ofvision of the operator of the crane, who must ordinarily confine hisattentions largely to the swinging boom of the crane, particularly.

when it is being rapidly turned. Accordingly the areas subtended by theedges of the protruding cab portion and the nearest platform edges,unless guarded in some manner, present a very dangerous condition. Anyperson or object remaining in these areas during the rotation of'the cabwill be violently thrown against the edge of the platform and subjectedto the shearing action. Equipment of this type is ordinarily used innoisy locations, where warning a person of his danger is difficult. Alsothe inertia of the heavy boom and cab makes it impossible to abruptlystop the cab in response to warnings, and if a workman steps into theshearing area with his back turned to the cab, it is practicallyimpossiblefor him to escape once the moving cab comes in contact withhim. Accidents of this kind are frequent and usually fatal. I

I have devised an arrangement of automatically movable fender guards forextending over the dangerous shearing areas. Such r guards may beslidably or pivotally mounted either upon the crane cab or on theplatform or on both and are preferably so arranged that when the craneboom is parallel to the railroad track the fenders or guards will beretracted and will not protrude substantially beyond the limits of theplatform or supporting carriage.

The objects of my invention include the provision of safety appliancesfor purposes such as that above indicated and for accomplishing thedesired results in a thoroughly dependable but relatively simple andinexpensive manner. j I

Further and more'specific objects, features and advantages will clearlyappear fromthe detailed description given below takenfin connection withthe accompanyingdrawings which form apart of this specification.

In the drawings, Figs. 1, 2 and 3 are top, side and end viewsrespectively of a rail road crane to which one form of appliancecomprising my invention has been applied; Figs. 4: and 5 are viewssimilar to Fig. 1, but illustrating the manner of operationof theappliance and the positions of the parts thereof when the crane boom isturned at angles of approximately 60 and 90 respectively with therailroad track; V

Fig. 6 is a plan view showing in'detail a fender arm and plate of thetype such as indicated in the foregoing figures;

Fig. 7 is a side view partly in section showing the fender arm and plateas of Fig. 6 and the method. of mounting the same;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially along the lineB-B of Fig. 6; Fig. 9 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantiallyalong the line DD of Fig. 6;

Fig. 10 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially along the lineE-E of Fig. 6; and

Fig. 11 is a sectional view similar to that of Fig. 9 but showing amodified form of fender arm and plate construction.

The particular form of crane illustrated is, mounted upon a. carriagecomprising a platform 20 supported upon suitable railway trucks as at 21and 22. A cab or housing is indicated at 23 which contains the operatingmachinery for the hoist or crane. The

crane boom is indicatedat 24. The end of the cab 25 opposite fromtheboom 24 is de-. signed to contain the counter weight for the boom andload; also the boiler and other parts. The cab, together with itscontents and parts connected therewith, may be rotatably mounted in anydesired well known manner as upon a shaft 26 accompanied by suitableroller bearings as indicated.

During the operation of the crane, if the cab is rotated from theposition shown in Fig. 1 the rear end portion thereof will protrudebeyond the edge of the platform 20 as indicated in Figs. 4 and 5. Thenas the cab is further rotated or is again returned to its normalposition, the edges of the cab as at 27 or 28 respectively Will approachthe side edges of the platform as at 29 or 30 and in the absence of anyguarding means these edges will come into the dangerous substantiallyshearing relation above referred to. To eliminate this hazard, fenderarm and plate members as at 31, 32, 33 and 34 may be provided andpivotally mounted respectively at the four corners of the platform 20.The four arm members may be all of the same or similar construction andaccordingly, it will be only necessary to describe one of the arms andits operation and associated parts in detail. Figs. 6 through 10, whichwill now be described, illustrate arms such as indicated at 32 and 34.

To provide a durable and simple form of construction the arm as shownmay comprise a section of pipe 35pivotally mounted at its end at thecorner of the platform or carriage as by means of a bearingmember 36bolted to the side frame of the platform.

A pivoting shaft or bolt 37 is received by the bearing member 36 and maybe fixed to pipe 35 by means of a suitable angle member 38 formed ofcast steel or other suitable mate rial.

The bearing 36 if desired may be supplemented by a supporting arm 39which is also pivotally mounted upon the side frame of the platform asbymeans of a bearing member 40. Provision is made at the outer end ofthe supporting arm 39 for pivotal and slidable engagement with thefender arm. One suitable construction for providing such engagement isshown in Fig. 8. According to this construction a member 41 is securedto the under side of the pipe 35, and is formed with two depending sideflanges 42 and 43 terminating in inwardly extending horizontal flangeportions 44 and 45 respectively. A pin member 46 is mounted in avertical position at the end of the arm 39. Provision for verticaladjustment of the pin may be made by suitably threading the pin and armas shown. A look nut 4'? may be provided for fixing the pin againstunintended displacement. A hearing member 48 mounted upon the upper endof the pin 46 slidably engages the flanges of the channel member 41 andis rotatable in respect to the pin member, the pin member being providedwith a suitable bearing portion 49. A passageway is indicated at 50 foradmitting oil to the bearing portion 49. As the fender arm rotates aboutits bearing at 36 the supporting arm 39 will also rotate about itsbearing 40 and by reason of the pivotal and sliding engagement with thechannel member 41, the supporting arm will follow the movement of thefender arm and firmly support the same. i r 4 Within the section of pipe35 a plug or stop member 51'may be secured and is engaged'by a spiralcompression spring 52, the opposite end of which is engaged by a plungermember 53. A connecting rod '54 extends through the spiral spring 52 andhas one end slidably received by the plug member 51 and its other. endadjustably fixed through the plunger member53, the adjustment beingeffected by a'nut 55 engaging the end of the rod which is threaded.Adjacent the stop member 51, the-rod 54 may he formed with an eyelet 56or other suitable means for engaging a cable clamp 57, which serves toconnect the rod. '54 with a short length of flexible steel cable 58. Theopposite end of this length of cable is connected in the same manner asabove described to the connecting rod. within the fender arm at theopposite end of the crane platform. That is, the connecting rods withinfender arms 31 and 32 are thus interconnected by one 7 section of cableand the connecting rods within fender arms 33 and 34 at the oppositeside of the platform are interconnected by another section of flexiblecable. Each of these cables is constantly maintained under the tensionis to be increased the nuts will be turned in the opposite direction, aswill readily be. understood. By such adjustment the coil springs may beplaced under sufficient compression to remove all slack from thesectionsof cable and to insure positive operation of the fender arms in a mannerhereinafter described.

The sections of pipe 35 may be supplemented by fender plate members asat 59, which areof such shape and area as to exclude persons or objects,during periods of danger, from possible contact with the coactingshear-mg" edges of the cab and the platform. These fender plates arealso designed to freely move into and out of the narrow space betweenthe platform and the under side of the cab. Thisspace is usually smallin order that the center of gravity of the cab may be kept substantiallyas low as possible. During operation of the crane this space willalsovary somewhat inheight due to tilting of the cab when the boom isloaded. In the fender plate construction here shown however, ampleprovision is made for such variations In addition to the horizontalareas of theplate members 59 these members are also preferably extendeddown over the outside of the pipe sections 35 as indicated at 60 toprovide a smooth outer contacting surface of substantial verticalwidth.

Upon the under side of the cab, rollers as indicated at 61, 62 and 63may be pivotally mounted. These rollers, (see Fig.3), are formed toengage both the edges of the fender plates 59 and the flexible steelcables 58. To this end'the inner edges as at 6% of the fender plates arereinforced by steel bar 65 and made with a contour such that uponengagement with the rollers the desired movement will beimparted to thefender arm. The fender plates 59 may be further reinforced if desired asby steel bars 66 and 67 extending below the lower face of V the plates.

As indicated in Fig. 1, the rollers 61 and 63 are normally in positionsready to contact respectively with the fender plate edges of theadjacent arms. If the cab is rotated from this position toward theposition indicated in Fig. i, iZllGlOllGI 61 will bear against theedge64: of the fender plate on arm 31. This will give the fender arm a aninitial outward movement causing the tension in the cable 58 to increaseand also causing the cable to be thrust outwardly of the platformthrough at least a short distance. This movement of the cable also givesthe fender arm 82 an initial outward movement, but less than the outwardmovement of the arm 31; During further movement of the cab in thisdirection the roller 61 contii'nies'to contact with the edge 64 andthereafter with the cable 58 bringing about a furtl'ier outward movementof the two arms 31 and 32. Upon continued movement of the cab, theroller 62 comes into engagement with the edge 64 and thereafter with thecable 58. In many in stances the cab, together with the roller 62, willbe moving rapidly at the time this roller contacts with the edge 64,but.inas much as the fender arm has already been given an initialoutward movement by the roller 61, there will be no destructive impactof the roller 62 against the edge ofthe fender plate. As the cabrotates, the arm 32 will arrive at its extreme outer position just priorto the time that the parts come into the position shown in Fig. 4. Thefender arms at all times during the rotation of the cab will be movedout to a position such that the angles between the cab edges and theadjacent fender arms will be at least substantially andgenerallygreater. Accordingly, no shearing action will occur between the fenderarm or platform edge and the cab body and any person or objectpositioned in theseareas during the rotation of the cab will either bethrust outwardly by the fender arms or pushed along the arms by the caband then outwardly by the arms until the period of danger is over.

In order to'retain the cable 58in positions most desirable for properoperation of the arms, a cable guide may be installed in each arm andconstructed as shown in Fig. 9. Outwardly of the cable guides each ofthe pipe sections 35 are formed with slits 68, which permit the cable toextend out through the side of each arm and directly to the cable guideof the opposite arm. When the arms aremoved outwardly, this arrangementpermits of less strain upon the compression springs than would be thecase if the cable extended through the outer end of the armsautomatically during the rotation of the cab,

the use of the operating rollers 61, 62 and 63 renders it unnecessary toprovide any direct operative connections with the crane engine. All ofthe structuraljparts of railroad cranes must, of course, be kept withina width which is definitely limited whenever the crane is to be movedfrom place to place along the track. hen the cab isrotated tov positionwith the boom in alignment with the railroad track, as is necessary whenthe crane isto be moved any considerable distance, the fender arms willbe automatically retracted to aposition substantially in alignment withthe sides of the crane platform. The fender arms at no time extend anysub stantial distance beyond the protruding portions of the cab. Infact, the arms accomplish'their function in a. reliable manner, and yettheir outer limit of movement is well within that of the cab.Accordingly, the

width of the'cran'eis not extended beyond the necessary limits. Thecable guides as shown in Fig. 9 hold the cable in an off-center positionwith respect to'the center lines of the arms. Therefore, even when thearms are at rest alongside the platform, the ten sioned cable exertssuflicient force against the cable guides to not only retain the fenderarms against substantial outward movement, but also to retain the armsagainst any substantial vibration or small turning move ments in respectto the platform edge.

Although in many instances it may be Washer member 71 on the pin foundto be economical to use sections of pipe as at 35 for the body portionof the fender arms, yet if desired a suitable hollow arm constructionmay be fabricated in accordance with the construction indicated in Fig.11. Here a plate member 74!; provides a suitable fender plate area, suchplate being formed integrally with a depending flange portion 75. Asuitable housing for the cable and spring with associated parts may beprovided by the use of a plate member 76 riveted at 77 to the fenderplate 7 i and at 78-to the flange portion 75. Furthermore, in otherrespects it is not desired to limit the inven tion to the details orspecific construction herein described, since it will be obvious tothose skilled in the art, after understanding the invention, thatvarious modifications and substitutions may be made without departingfrom the scope of the invention, and I aim therefore in the appendedclaims to cover all such modifications.

lVhat is claimed as new and is desired to be secured by Letters Patentof the United States is:

1. In combination with a crane having a platform and a rotatable cabthereon, a fender arm pivotally mounted at the side of the platform forexcluding persons from the area of danger between the cab and platformedges. I

2. In combination with an implement such as a hoisting crane having aplatform and a rotatable cab thereon, fender arms pivotally mountedadjacent each corner of the platform and normally extending along theplatform edges but operative upon rotation of the cab to exclude personsfrom the areas of danger between the cab and platform edges.

3. In combination with. a crane having a platform and a rotatable cabthereon, a fender arm pivotally mounted at the side of the platform forexcluding persons from the area of danger between the cab and platformedges, and a supplemental supporting arm for said fender arm, saidsupporting arm being mounted at the platform edge at a point spaced fromthe pivoting point of the fender arm.

i. In combination with a crane having a platform and a rotatable cabthereon, a fender arm pivotally mounted at the side of the platform forexcluding persons from the area of danger between the cab and platformedges, and a supplemental supporting arm for said fender arm, saidsupporting arm being pivotally mounted upon the platform and havingpivotal and sliding engagement with the fender arm.

5. In combination with a crane having a platform and a rotatable cabthereon, a fender arm pivotally mounted at the side of the platform forexcluding persons from the area of danger between the cab and platformedges, said arm having a tubular body portion, and spring means thereinfor normally retaining the arm in retracted position alongside theplatform. I

6. In combination with a crane having a platform and a rotatable cabthereon, a fender arm pivotally mounted at the side of the platform forexcluding persons from the area of danger between the cab and platformedges, said arm having a tubular body portion, surmounted by a fenderplate for substantially covering the area of danger.

7. In combination with a crane having a platform and a rotatable cabthereon, a

fender arm accompanied by a fender plateand pivotally mounted at theside of the platform for excluding persons from the area of dangerbetween the cab and platform edges, said plate being designed to freelvmove into and out of the space between the platform and the under sideof the cab.

8. In combination with a crane having a platform and a rotatable cabthereon, a pair of fender arms pivotally mounted at the side of theplatform for excluding persons from the areas of danger between the caband platform edges, said arms being directed to-- ward each other, andflexible yielding means interconnecting said'arms. I

9. In combination with a crane having a platform and a rotatable cabthereon, a pair of fender arms pivotally mounted at the side of theplatform for excluding persons from the areas of danger between the caband platform edges, said arms having tubular body portions, a cableinterconnecting said arms and having its ends secured therein, and meanson the cab for engaging said cable to control the position of said armsin accordance with movements of the cab.

10. In combination with a crane having a platform and a rotatable cabthereon, a pair of fender arms pivotally mounted at the side of theplatform for excluding persons from the areas of danger between the caband platform edges, a cable interconnect-- ing said arms and having itsends secured therein, and means on the cab for engaging said cable tocontrol the position of said -of fender arms pivotally mounted at theside llU arms in accordance with movements of the of the platform forexcluding personsfrom the areas of danger between the cab and platformedges, a cable arranged'in series with a coiled compression spring foryieldably interconnecting said arms to retain the same in retractedposition alongside the platform.

13. In combination with a crane having a 7 platform and a rotatablecabthereon, a pair of fender arms pivotally mounted at the side of theplatform for excluding persons from the areas of, danger between the caband platform edges, a cable member accompanied by adjustableyieldablemeans for interconnecting said arms to normally retain w the same inretracted position but permitting the arms to be forced outwardly of theplatform.

14. In combination with an implement such as a hoisting'crane having aplatform and a rotatable cab thereon fender arms formedges, a cablemember accompanied by adjustable yieldable means for interconnectingsaid arms to normally retain the same in retracted position butpermitting the arms to be forced outwardly of the platform, said cablemember extending within said arms and having lts ends secured therein.

16. In combination with a crane having a platform and a rotatable cabthereon, a, pair of fender arms pivotally mounted at the side of theplatform for excluding persons from the areas of danger between the caband platform edges, a cable member accompanied by adjustable yieldablemeans for interconnecting said arms to normallyretain the same inretracted positionibut permitting the arms to be forced outwardly of theplatform, said cable member extending within said arms and having itsends secured there- Yin, and guiding means. within the arms for saidcable whereby the cable is heldin position-to firmly retain saidarmswhen retracted against the platform sides.

17. .In combination with a crane having a platform and a rotatable cabthereon, a pair of fender arms pivotally mounted at the side oftheplatform for excluding persons from 'the areas of danger between the caband platform edges, a cable member accompanied by adjustable yieldablemeans for interconnecting said arms to normally retain the same inretracted position but permitting the arms to be forcedoutwardly of theplatform, said cable member extending within said arms and having itsends secured therein, said arms being of tubular form and slotted partway of their length to accommodate movements of the cable.

.In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

WILLIAM E. SMILEY.

CERTIFICATE 91%. CRREGTN= Patent No. 1,64%,72. Granted August 39, 1927,to

WELLEAM E. SMELEY.

it is hereby car-5216 iha: arm? 238ES in the abm e sumbeaed patentrequiring carmctiqm a Ws- In the grant and in the Eaeafiing to theprinted speciiicaiian he re a t lyfi, New Ym'k", Wllfiffilziresidemesiwuifi have bean given as Cazenovia, New Yes-k; and Ehat tza saidLatters Paiem shouid be readwith this correeiiss therein 612:" "a samemay mniwm 2e ihe ween? 0f the case in the Patent @flice.

Sigma? and seaie ixis 222$ day 0% Nevemhez, A. B. 1927.,

M. J. Mozare, Seai" Acting Gammissioner 0? Patents.

